Obturator for breech-loading ordnance.



No. 995,799. l I 'Patented Mar. I8, |902.

' A. T. nAwsoN 9G. r. ucKHAm.

BURATR FOR BBEECH LOADING RDNANCE.

(Application led B ept. 6, 1901..)

(No Model.)

" rrn Aras nTnNT OFFICE;

ARTHUR TREVR DAWSON AND GEORGE THOMAS'BUCKHAM., Uli' WEST- HINSTER, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS T VICKERS SONS da MAXIM, LIMITED,

or wns'rivnnsrnn, ENGLAND. I

OBTURATOR FOR BREECiH-LOAZLCNG ORDNANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 695,799, dated March 18, 1902, i Application led September 6 1901. Serial No. 74,512. (No model.)

'To a/ZZ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that We,AP'rHUR TREvoR DAW SON, la'telieutenant of Royal Navy and superintendant of OrdnanceWorks, and GEORGE THOMAS BUCKHAM, engineer, subjects of the King of Great Britain, residing at 32 Victoria street, Westminster, Vin the county of London,

England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements Relatingto Obturators for ro Breach-Loading Ordnance, of which the following is a specification. i

This invention relates toobturato'rs of the De Bange" type for breech-loading ordnance, and has for its chief object to improvethe construction of such obturators, so

that the liability of their pads to become in- .jured during use will be m-uch less than heretofore.

In a gun having a'swinging soretav-threaded zo breech-block with interrupted -threads We make the outer circumference or seat of the obturator-pad-that is to say, ihepart which fits radially against thebreech end of cham-- ber-conical orogival inform, so that in the swinging of the block in-ropening or closing the breech the obturator will easily leave or enter its place within the breech-cha1nber without requiring to be shifted rectilinearly. The said pad preferablyconsists of a composition of asbestos and mutton-suet, covered with canvasand is made in the'form of a ring in the manner usual withthe De yBange obturators. In such bturators experience has proved that during use the canvas of the pad is liable to injury, particularly at the forward circumferential part Where the junc- ,tion takes place between the said canvas and tle edge of the disks employed for protecting the pad. f 4o Itis the chief object of our invention to overcome this liability to injury by providing the pad with a protecting metallic cup or cups and a split ring or rings, as hereinafter explained. p

i In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a sectional elevation of one form of obturator constructed in accordance with ourinvention. Fig. 2 is a section of the split ring used with this form of obturator. Fig. 3 is a detail face l5o view of the said ring (looking toward the left -inner edgesff' of the rings.

of 2) and showing how its endsoverlap. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are vertical sections of modi- .fied constructions of the ebturator. -Like letters of reference indicate similar parts in all the figures. A l

-Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 3, A is the body? portion or pad of the obturator, and B the canvas covering thereof. The. front portion of the pad is provided with a protective facing or cup C, of copper or other 6o appropriate material, which we interpese between the mushroom head'of the obturator bolt (shown in dotted lines) and the forward part of the pad, said forward part being preferably beveled at c near its periphery. The said copper facing or cupy is also preferably flanged rearwardly at its periphery to form a circular lip o', which will cover a part of the pad that would `otherwise be exposed at the periphery. This rearwardly-hanged portion 7o may taper to a thin or knife edge. At the\ aforesaid front beveled part c of the periphery of the said copper facing or cup we provide a steel or other suitable split ring D, which is preferablyof triangular cross-sec- '7 5 tion to fit the correspondingly-beveled portion of the copper facing `or cup C, but which is not connected to the latter. The rear portion of the pad may be protected with a tin or other suitable metal disk E, steel rings F, -So

`and. metallic ring F in the manner usual with De'Bange Qbturators, these rings 4being secured in place by causing 'the tin com posing said metal disk E'to overlap the an n'ular dovetail groove foned by the inclined 85 With this construction of obturator when the gun is fired the gaseous pressure generated causes the mushroom head of the obturator-bolt to exert great pressure on the pad, as is well undergo stood, thereby compressing the latter and causing the copper facing or cup C and the steel split ring D to make atight joint. at the seat of the obturator and to thus effectnally seal the breech-opening of the gun. l The ae- 9 5 tion of the rear disk is practically the same as vin the ordinary form of the De Bange obturator. The special advantage of the copper facing or cup C is that if the obtnrator docs not truly fit its scat the compression im of the pad causes the said facing or cup to take a permanent set against the said seat, thus permanently compensating for any inequality of the fit. The front splittring D insures a metallic contact with the seat of the ohturator, so that when rapid firing is ef# feeted the great heat' resulting therefrom is conducted from the mushroom head to the gun through the said metallic contact. 'The powder-gases are prevented from attacking the pad at the point where the steel ring D isisplit hy the pressure of the mushroom head against the copper facing or cup C, and in order to prevent damage of the ohturator'by successive intermittent pressuiesoccasioned by rapid firing thecopper facinr or cup should be: made of appropriate thickness.

in Fig. 4 We have shown the pad A provided with a copper or other' appropriate metal protective hacking or cup C at its rear in addition to the front facing or cup C, and also with .rear split ring` D' in addition to the iront split ringD. In this case the rear rings D' and F' a re not formed with the dovetailportions represented in Fig. l, and the holding of the rings in place is dependent upon the obturator-bolt and breech-l locl retaining the pad between' them.

ln Figs. 5 and G We have dispensed altogether with the metal dial; E and the rear cup C shown in the preceding figures, but in other respects the ohturator is similar those already7 described, except that in Fic'. (5 it is curved or ogivally formedl on its periphery, the radius of such curve being struck from the axis of the hinge about which the 'oi-cechbloclc swings.

YWe wish it to be un derstoed that the aforesaid rear metallic cup C and split ring L, 1 Fie. 4, may he used without the forward cup messes, this C and split ring Difif desired, and in seine cases We may use the rear split ring D without the rear metallic cup C', or the said rear split ringr D' may be used -with both the forward metallic cup C and the split ringr D. T1l/e also wish it to he understood that our improvements may be used with an obturator having its' periphery parallel instead 'of conical or curved, in which case it would of course beneeessary to provide the breech mechanism of the gun with the usual or other means for reetilinearly withdrawing the ob,n turator before swing-ing the breeehbl'ock outwardly about its hinge. l

4What We claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

l.' In an ohturator, the combination with the pari, cfa forward metallic split ring of triangular cross-section', a 'protective metallic facing to said pad having a beveled portion near its periphery and hanged rearwardly, and two concentric rear rings, the outer one of which is split, substantially as and fertile purpose specified. l

2. In an ooturator,the combination with the pad, of'a forward metallic split ring of triangular cross-section, a protective meta!- lic facing' to said pad havingaoeveled portion near its periphery and lianged and tapered rearwardly, a protective metallic backing to said pad, and two concentric rear metallic rings of triangular cross-section, the outer one oi which is split, substantially as and for the purpose specified..

ln testiinen whereof We have hereunto set our haadsin efence of two subscribing wituay of August, 1901. Lift TREVUR BAVi/TSGN. @EGR THOMAS lUCKlili. itnesees:

A. MORRIS,

fi. SEARLE. 

